Poised, but not quite strong enough

On the streets of Mo City.

Cao Ying frowned as she looked at the tightly clad women and the bare-chested men on the street.

She glanced at Shen Wen and saw that he was not looking at those women in tight clothes. She nodded to herself. At least he upheld a husband's virtue.

"What are we doing here?" Cao Ying asked in confusion. Hadn't they come to search for the Green Lotus Core Flame?

Why had they suddenly come here?

With her Spirit Realm soul power, she swept through the entire city and found not even a Dou Emperor.

"Actually, I don't know where the Green Lotus Core Flame is." Shen Wen awkwardly rubbed his nose.

The Tagor Desert was even larger than he had imagined. Without a general area to search, finding the Green Lotus Core Flame would be truly difficult.

"You lied to me!"

Beneath her hood, Cao Ying glared at Shen Wen. Back then, this man had used the location of the Green Lotus Core Flame as the condition for her marriage to him.

Now that they were married, he was telling her that even he did not know where the Green Lotus Core Flame was?

But...

Cao Ying realized that she did not seem all that angry!

No, no!

It was because the betrothal gift Shen Wen had given was worth even more than a Heavenly Flame.

It was not because she had started to like Shen Wen.

This was not tolerance!!

Cao Ying huffed inwardly, while Dan Chen froze for a moment. She knew that Shen Wen and Cao Ying had gone out to gain experience, but she had not known they were searching for a Heavenly Flame.

A Heavenly Flame.

That was a treasure every Alchemist dreamed of possessing, and it sounded like Shen Wen had prepared this one for Cao Ying.

Th-this... Sister Ying is far too fortunate!

Dan Chen inexplicably felt a little envious of Cao Ying. After all, she had a husband who treated her so well. But her expression soon dimmed.

Because of her special constitution, even an Alchemist with Spirit Realm soul power might have their soul strength drained away if they lived with her for too long.

That made a marriage alliance utterly impossible for her.

Unless she found someone whose soul cultivation far surpassed hers, or someone who was not afraid of the peculiarities of her soul.

For some reason, Dan Chen looked at Shen Wen, who was walking beside Cao Ying.

She remembered that Shen Wen was not afraid of her unusual soul.

"I might not know, but someone else does. And I know where that person is," Shen Wen said with a smile.

Hai Bodong, who was feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

That fellow was surely still fretting over how to undo Medusa's "seal."

Shen Wen stopped someone and asked where the Ancient Map Map Shop was. The person he stopped looked thoroughly impatient.

In a dry place like this, the most flammable thing was everyone's temper.

The passerby was about to curse him out, but upon seeing Shen Wen's air of wealth and status, he swallowed his insults.

He pointed out the way before hurrying off.

Following the passerby's directions, Shen Wen and the other two found the Ancient Map Map Shop.

When they entered, they saw an old man with his head lowered, studying maps. He seemed to have heard someone come in.

"Pick your own maps. I have everything from rough maps to detailed ones. Different maps, different prices. Don't ask whether they're authentic. Buy them or leave."

The old man did not even raise his head. He merely spoke in an indifferent, arrogant voice.

"Medusa's seal isn't easy to bear, is it, Hai Bodong?"

Shen Wen did not beat around the bush. With his strength, there was no need for him to dance around Hai Bodong. What a joke.

Even if Hai Bodong had not been sealed, he would still have been no match for Shen Wen in his prime.

To put it bluntly.

Even at full strength, Hai Bodong would not have been qualified to serve as a dog in the Pill Pagoda. One should not forget that even the gatekeepers at some auctions in the Central Continent were Dou Zongs.

How did that saying go again?

After Yun Shan, there were no more Dou Zongs.

The old man's movements stiffened for an instant as he studied the maps. Though it was only a moment, Shen Wen caught it.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If you're not buying anything, get out."

The old man put away the map in front of him and looked up at Shen Wen. Seeing Shen Wen's youthful face, he spoke calmly.

Shen Wen looked at Hai Bodong, who was still pretending to be composed. With a casual flick of his hand, he tossed the badge representing his status as a Seventh-Grade Alchemist onto the counter.

Hai Bodong saw the badge flying toward him, its markings, and the Pill Pagoda certification.

His previously calm expression froze for a moment.

A Seventh-Grade Alchemist?

How was that possible?

Hai Bodong frowned deeply. "Kid, that thing can't be forged. If the Alchemist Guild finds out, you're dead!"

Shen Wen was in no hurry. He looked through the books around him and soon found the book containing the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment. He took the incomplete map from it.

He said, "Just because you've never seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. When all is said and done, you never even reached the Dou Zong realm at your peak. What kind of world could you have seen?"

Shen Wen held the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment between his fingers, wondering whether he should take it. After all, he had already taken the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Honestly.

After obtaining the Flame Ancestral Talisman, he cared far less about Heavenly Flames. The Heavenly Flames might not even be able to withstand his Flame Ancestral Talisman.

After thinking it over, he put it away for now.

If he felt like it later, he could leave it for Lucky Brother. After all, his first time with Xiao Xun'er had been in the Demonic Flame Space.

He truly had no thoughts about Xiao Xun'er. He had a mental cleanliness obsession, and it was obvious that Xiao Xun'er already liked Xiao Yan.

Why disgust himself?

There were plenty more fish in the sea. Lucky Brother, once you have Xiao Xun'er, don't go provoking people like Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa.

Eh?

Shen Wen's fingers paused as he turned the ancient book's pages. He remembered that Mo City had a little girl as well.

Qing Lin, who possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils...

She could be trained. She would make a fine little maid. As for letting the Sky Snake Mansion train her?

What a joke.

What trash was the Sky Snake Mansion? The Pill Pagoda had everything one could need, and even if it lacked something, the Pill Pagoda's connections would be enough to obtain a cultivation method suitable for Qing Lin.

Hai Bodong stared sharply at Shen Wen as a cold, powerful aura spread from his body.

"Who are you?!"

Before Shen Wen could speak, Cao Ying snorted coldly. Dou Qi instantly spread out, blasting away all the surrounding pressure.

"Let's talk properly."

Cao Ying's eyes beneath her hood fixed on Hai Bodong. He was merely a Dou Emperor, someone who would not even qualify as a gatekeeper in her household.

And he dared bare his fangs at her husband?!

Hai Bodong's face was filled with shock. He was naturally extremely familiar with that aura, since he had once been a Dou Emperor himself.

The crucial point was—

He had seen Cao Ying's face beneath the hood. That youthful aura could not possibly be faked. A Dou Emperor so young?

"D-Dou Emperor!"

Shen Wen returned to the counter and looked at Hai Bodong with a smile. "Your bearing isn't bad, but your strength is lacking."

"Let me introduce myself. Shen Wen of the Pill Pagoda, Seventh-Grade Alchemist!"

"The Pill Pagoda!! Y-you're from the Pill Pagoda?"

Hai Bodong was stunned.

Naturally, he had heard of the Pill Pagoda. It was in the incomparably distant Central Continent, the holy land of all Alchemists.

To the Central Continent, their region was nothing more than a backwater.

And Shen Wen claimed to be from the Pill Pagoda!

His gaze could not help falling upon the Seventh-Grade Alchemist Badge still on the counter. "Y-you..."

"Are you really a Seventh-Grade Alchemist?"

"It bears the Pill Pagoda's certification. As you said, who would pretend to be a Seventh-Grade Alchemist?"

"Are you done being shocked? This is why small places are better. People's shock is more genuine." Shen Wen pinned the Alchemist Badge to his chest.

Upon hearing Shen Wen's words.

Dan Chen and Cao Ying exchanged a glance, each seeing the other's speechlessness.

Forget a small place.

Even in the Central Continent, such a young Seventh-Grade Alchemist would be one of a kind!